The Very End
by Kurohane Ookami
Summary: "I know..I know, so..I'll see you off to the very end.."


_O Ark, take both of them to Mater..to a far-off land unreachable by any being.._

Kanda studied the broken and shattered frame of Alma, his appearance so mangled by his own self destruction it was nearly impossible to tell what he had looked like before. His arms tightened without realizing, his emotions barely in check as he remembered what wounds he had inflicted on Allen only minutes before.

His Noah was awakening now, because of the hatred Kanda had against Alma and his blind persistence to kill him. He hadn't even noticed that it was Allen he was stabbing, Allen, who was still attempting to save both Kanda and Alma.

He, Kanda, was the one who had pleaded for this last act of sacrifice from the white haired man, no longer the naive youth he had been when they'd first met.

Somewhere, in the farthest reaches of hi mind, he realized. _Maybe he'd never hated Allen Walker from the start.._

Allen had opened the gate of the Ark for Kanda, and the two finally realized they had made peace with one another.

_"Thank you, Allen Walker." _

Those were the last words he would ever speak to another exorcist.

As soon as Kanda and Alma had come through the Ark, it had collapsed, small pieces of the supernatural machine falling like snow. Holding out a ruined hand, Kanda caught a shard as it slowly crackled away like old parchment.

_"Beansprout.." _he whispered, suddenly horrified and worried, yet calm and saying the one word that the Crown Clown wielder had always detested and retorted back angrily at, never realizing perhaps it was a nickname to a friend rather than enemy.

_"Poor thing.." _Alma whispered weakly. _"I understand..Akuma, offshoots of the Millenium Earl, can feel it.."_

Kanda gazed down at Alma in questioning silence.

_"That child is a Noah.."_

He knew. He knew Allen was a Noah, and why he had fought to keep Allen with the Order as long as possible. Had he really meant all of the threats he'd always made, or were they all just a cover to how he really felt about the Order and the exorcists. Maybe, they had been his family, regardless of the past and what had been done to him and Alma.

_"And I..the Earl.." _Alma broke off with a strangled scream, electricity striking out as his body arched off of the ground

_"Don't speak anymore." _Kanda said softly, gathering Alma into his arms gently.

_"Yu..Yu..just watch..don't use Innocence.." _he panted raggedly.

_"I know."_ Kanda replied, worry shining in his usually dark and emotionless eyes.

_"Until my soul is crushed by dark matter..ahh." _Alma winced in pain again, his eyes glassy, his skin slowly turning to a stone like texture and appearance. _"I can't forgive the orginization, even now..I hate them..so much I can hardly bear it.." _tears slid down his cheeks as he spoke the words. Kanda slowly pulled him closer as Alma cried his sorrows and regrets into the one person who understood him.

_"But, I should sink into mud..I killed many..even lending my power to the Earl..so much.." _he cried. Kanda brought Alma up into a warm embrace, holding the frail body and comforting him as he should have years ago.

_"I know..I know, so..I'll see you off to the very end.."_

Cradling Alma, Kanda could remember everything about his past with the other. How Alma would speak to those others who would never wake, telling them about the life he was living. Fighting with Alma over the smallest matters, like why he followed Kanda around so often with so much persistence and regardless of the consequences.

How had everything come down to this?

The silence was deafening, the two silent, Alma motionless, Kanda merely offering the smallest gift to the one who had suffered and caused suffering. His eyes slowly closed after a while, embracing Alma and memorizing every single detail about him and recalling all the memories they had created together.

Small giggles and snickering caught Kanda's attention.

Opening his tired eyes, with an effort he raised his head to look in front of him and witness something he thought he may never see again.

A boy, dressed in familiar clothing with short black hair, claiming a tall womans hand, clad in a dark dress with flowing sleeves, walking away from him, the boy smiling and laughing as though she had said something amusing.

Suddenly, Kanda realized that hundreds upon hundreds of water lilies were appearing, cloaking the surrounding sandy terrain and making it seem as though there was a large pond in front of him.

Eyes startled wide, he glanced at them, the delicate petals, and heard a voice calling to him.

_I love you, Yu.._

His head snapped up as a near black tendril of what looked to be water raised up before disappearing back down into the depths.

Kanda, for the first time in many years, smiled softly and cried.

_"Yeah.." _he replied softly.

The tears falling down the pale face did not end, even as Kanda Yu's eyes closed and he fell asleep peacefully for the last time, knowing that it was finally over.

_I love you too.._

_Alma._


End file.
